Boy Scout Trail - 16.4 Miles Round-Trip

The Boy Scout Trail spans an 8 mile transition zone between the high and low Mojave Desert, showcasing an extraordinary range of plants, cacti, trees and terrain. The southern portion travels through an archetypal Joshua Tree flat, then edges higher into a pinyon-juniper ecosystem.

Trail Map | Photo Gallery

Further north it drops sharply into a rugged canyon and emerges in a bajada that supports a variety of plants and succulents from the low Mojave and Sonoran deserts. Hikers will see how even subtle elevation changes affect plant composition along each mile of the trail:

The trail rises north through a Joshua Tree forest with views of distant peaks in the San Bernadino Wilderness. A mild grade continues past the Willow Hole Trail split (1.25 miles : 4,130') with a glimpse into the Wonderland of Rocks (1.25 miles : 4,130').

Terrain changes noticeably beyond 2.8 miles, undulating on a faint path amid more diverse vegetation. Juniper, pinyon, oak, nolina and a variety of cacti and cholla emerge through 3 miles and its highest point (4,185') - arguably the most scenic section of the Boy Scout Trail.

The trail levels on a high plateau and spills into an open wash (3.75 miles : 4,060'); take note of the signpost here, a useful navigation mark on the return.

The trail is intermittently rugged, cluttered and ill-defined to and past the Big Pine Trail split (3.95 miles : 4,025'), alternating through narrow washes and tangles of mesquite, cats claw and oak. You'll skirt a dry fall at 4.15 miles (3,981') down to an old cattle tank - another good landmark on the return.

The trail exits a wash on the high plateau (4.35 miles) and follows a twisting course to the top of a deep canyon with northerly views of a desolate landscape. At 4.65 miles (3,958') the trail crests before dropping 400' in just .4 miles along faint, tightly wound switchbacks into the canyon (see GPS points).

The trail reaches the canyon floor (5.2 miles : 3,550') and bears right down the wash. The next sparingly-marked mile drops down the narrow, rugged canyon lined by yucca, mistletoe, barrel and mound cacti.

A signpost and string of rocks marks the wash exit (6.2 miles : 3,275'); bear right to exit the canyon over a small knoll. The trail drops into the canyon's wide, brushy spillway (6.4 miles : 3,184') and keeps right. Desert willow, Mormon Tea, creosote, mistletoe and jojoba are particularly abundant.

The trail veers out of the spillway over another small knoll and pours into a sparse bajada (6.65 miles : 3,165').

Joshua Trees are nowhere to be found in the lower Mojave, a markedly different environment from which you started. Here creosote thrives, while cheesebush, paperbag bush and a variety desert scrub and cholla fill out the landscape. The sandy trail glides 1.6 miles through open desert to its northern terminus at Indian Cove (8.2 miles : 2,920').